Interview: The Brotherhood at REBELLiON 2022

REBELLiON is proud to present the first appearance of APEX Records’ The Brotherhood! The guys representing their label, Vasto, Scarra en MC Synergy, will have the honour of opening REBELLiON, so we decided to put the record straight on a few burning questions we had for them. Do they have something special in store? And who is most likely to end up in an asylum? 

This is going to be the first time you’ll appear as The Brotherhood. Are you having something special planned for it?

Scarra: Absolutely! You’ll have to visit the set to witness what…

Vasto: We’re going to play a lot of new music and edits of course, next to that we really want to make people feel like a part of The Brotherhood during this experience!

MC Synergy: I think an APEX showcase in general is special. It will be one big set of released and unreleased tracks of everyone from APEX. The crowd will hear a lot of stuff they already know and can sing along to and expect the unexpected with new music or crazy edits!

The Brotherhood is presented by APEX Records. How does it feel representing APEX Records this way?

Scarra: F*cking dope! To come from nothing and already play the mainstage is just insane, especially with a showcase.

Vasto: It’s very cool to be able to represent your label like this, we started this out together and it just feels nice to share the stage with team members.

MC Synergy: Look, it’s not like the concept of The Brotherhood is something made up, it’s just a feeling that we got working together from the start. APEX has started a few days before Covid came so in the first two years we didn’t really get the opportunity to show ourselves on events except for last summer. But I think that only made the bond stronger, diving into the studio together and almost having daily contact. I’m very grateful to be a part of our beautiful Brotherhood.

You’re opening the mainstage at REBELLiON. Why is this an act people shouldn’t miss out on?

Scarra: I think for me, sharing our chemistry with the crowd is what’s the driving power of APEX. It’s what makes us special.

Vasto: Like I said before, we will be playing a lot of new music and edits. But, come on guys, this is The Brotherhood, you want to be a part of this. It’s going to be f*cking amazing and we won’t be holding back!

MC Synergy: Haha yeah this is a good question. We are a bunch of newbies just coming around the corner, yet we did some sick albums, for example ‘Bassline Breaker’, and rocked the Indigo and Blue stages on Defqon.1 last year. I think our showcase is something not to miss, because we will show you what the new generation has in store for you. So, if you want to stay up to date about where the scene is going and who are going to be the ‘big acts’ in a few years, you just can’t miss out on this one!

Who of you is the big brother, the little brother, and the middle child?

Scarra: We’re all just a bunch of babies hehe. No if I’d have to choose; Sem would be big brother because he’s more responsible, Marvin would be the little brother because he’s the youngest (sorry man) and I would be the middle child.

Vasto: Sem would obviously be the little child, that’s one thing that’s clear to me. I would say Oscar is the big brother because he’s the oldest of us (and bold haha). That would make me the middle child, although in truth I’m the youngest but that doesn’t matter.

MC Synergy: I’m the middle child because the middle child often is forgotten. And since I’m the MC in a group of DJ’s I’m just the different factor. I think Levi would be the big brother because of his experience and collabs with big guys, and Marvin and Oscar are the little children because they are holding so much potential but have to get on the radar by the bigger guys!

What about expanding the family? Do you want The Brotherhood to eventually get another brother? Or are you planning on staying with the same family?

Scarra: Well… We can’t tell you much about that yet, for the moment we are looking at the future of the label and it should include some new boys, or girls… You never know!

Vasto: I think, looking at our future, it would be important to have someone fitting the group and feeling of APEX. Of course, quality will always be one of the most important aspects but IF we were to sign someone new, we should all feel the connection and they should fit into The Brotherhood. Furthermore, we can’t tell you anything concrete yet haha.

MC Synergy: The Brotherhood must expand, not only artist wise but also the Hardstyle family, the visitors, the fans, because everyone should be a part of our Brotherhood. A few festivals became part of the Brotherhood last year, including REBiRTH, Intents, Defqon.1, Decibel and now REBELLiON will also become part of The Brotherhood.

Have you guys ever visited REBELLiON or REBiRTH before as a visitor? If so, what were your best memories from it?

Scarra: I did visit REBELLiON, for me that was the place where I learned to network. It’s also the place where the collab with Ncrypta kind of started. I didn’t visit REBiRTH as a visitor, but I got to play there with Marvin last year and that was a cool experience.

Vasto: Actually, I never got to visit any big party as a visitor because I’m 21 now and just when I turned 18 covid came around the corner so I never was able to visit. I did however play at REBiRTH last year with Oscar and that was a cool experience!

MC Synergy: I did visit REBiRTH and that’s where for me the idea came to mind to even become an MC. It was my second or third ever festival to visit and that’s where I saw MC Villain for the first time and I thought; I might not be good at making music, but entertaining and hyping up crowds is what I want to do!

I bet you’ll be going out of your mind on stage when you’re on. Out of the three of you, who is most likely to end up in a mental asylum afterwards?

Scarra: Uhm… I guess all of us are a bit ‘psycho’.

Vasto: I think me, sometimes something just snaps in my head when I’m on stage. For example, I really dig it when someone like Oscar throws a track that you’ve been listening in the studio for a while, and it just hits different live!

MC Synergy: You might have seen a video of a Bassline Breaker edit of ‘Sex Met Die Kale’, where you see Marvin klaplong so hard that I thought his longs would literally fall out. Levi of course is not at our Brotherhood showcase but always has insane amounts of energy on stage, Oscar is always a happy egg, and I’m running back and forth the podium so I could be the one ending up in the hospital as well.

Final words of MC Synergy: I want to thank you for inviting us to REBELLiON, and for the fans, become a part of The Brotherhood and visit our opening showcase on the mainstage of REBELLiON on the 19th of November 2022!